San Jose Apartment Residents Battle Landlord Over Mold, Bedbugs
SAN JOSE (KPIX 5) – Residents of a San Jose apartment complex say living conditions are so bad, they have been fighting for more than a year to get them fixed.
At the Sunny Apartments on Story Road, one doesn't have to look far to see the problems. KPIX 5 went into an apartment where the oven vent is so clogged with grease that residents say it drips on the food.
There are plumbing problems, mold by a bedroom closet, and the bedbugs are so bad that 12-year-old Fernando Arroyo said he is forced to sleep on the floor.
"There are bedbugs and I can't sleep in the bed or on the couch. So yeah, we have to sleep on the floor," Fernando told KPIX 5.
Residents made poster boards with photos of the problems and took them to City Hall this week.
"They have 109 violations and we have been working for this for a whole year and nothing has been completed," said neighborhood association president Gloria Zamudio. "So we are very dissatisfied with the work from code enforcement."
Residents have now filed a lawsuit, and are also coming together as a group to express their concerns.
"Because when just one person complains they usually get kicked out the apartment," said resident Maribel Dimas.
When more than a dozen complex residents tried to deliver their complaints to the city's code enforcement office, it was closed. The city said no appointment was made and staff was at an off-site meeting.
In a written statement, the city said, "We take code compliance issues seriously since this can be a matter of health and safety for San Jose residents. Our goal, as always, is to achieve compliance as quickly as practical."
KPIX 5 reached out to the attorney for the owner of the apartment complex, but did not hear back.
